Slumber Party Continued...

Here are some more pictures of the Slumber Party with Janelle and Ella!

Enjoying some time going down the slide!!!

I think Ella's favorite thing to do in the world is swing. Janelle said she could swing all day!
Here they are doing laps around the house!!!

Ella being sweet with Miss Jilly!

Here are the bunnies we chased!
Do you see this one under the tree near the branches??

A Bumps and Bruises Slumber Party!

Here are Gage and Ella about a year and half ago...such sweet faces!

My friend from college, Janelle, came over on Thursday night with her little girl, Ella. We had such a good time. We used to live about 10 mins from each other, but since we moved and they moved, it is more like 50 mins. Not fun! We were both pregnant with our firsts' together and even used to have "doggy playdates" before our babes were born. I was thankful that they were willing to make the drive out here and spend some time together.

We started off by taking the kids to the pool...total bummer that we both forgot our cameras! They did good, except Gage hasn't learned how to stand back up in the kiddie pool when we falls. So, you see a tod face down in the pool, thinking he will stand up, but doesn't. Not to fun. I also learned that taking 2 kids (Gage and Jillian) to a pool alone is a lot of work! My mom will be joining me next time! Gage and Ella did have fun and enjoyed the ride in the new mini-van!! Halla!

We ordered pizza for dinner. Ella enjoyed eating the cheese off the top and then licking the sauce off, while Gage was more about getting down to business.

For their viewing pleasure, we watched Little Einsteins, AKA. "Leo", and they were helping Rocket blast off!

After dinner we took the tods out for a rabbit hunt! Here they are running down the sidewalk.

We got to see several rabbits, 2 of which ran into this backyard!

Then came the bumps and bruises portion of the evening. While we were out walking, Gage manage to trip on the sidewalk which was lined with stones. He landed, face first, on the stone and you can see the line going up and down his cheek. He also has a mark on his eyebrow. I felt so horrible! Then Ella managed to fall and bang her knee pretty hard. Janelle picked her up and kissed it. Then, in a poor, pitiful voice, Ella says, "All better". It was sad and so sweet!

What slumber party is complete without a little pj dance party! No affection was show, as you can see at the end of the video!

Janelle and Ella, thanks for coming to play with us!

Gage and Gracyn

Above is a picture from Gage and Gracyn's first playdate, which was about 2 years ago!

How sweet are those faces!?!?

What a great playdate. Our friends from our old church came over yesterday, Angela (the mom), Gracyn (2years old) and Grady (8months old). We have know them since BK (before kids!). It is so great to have friends whose families grow as your own grows. That is exactly how we are. Gage and Gracyn are only about 6 weeks apart. Grady and Jillian are just a couple months apart. How fun is that. Angela and I have tried a few times to get together for a playdate. We don't live that far away, but after we had the newest babies, things got crazy! Either one of the kids was sick or something got in the way. So, it was very exciting that we were able to have this spur of the moment playdate. Gage had a bit of a shy streak at first. He only wanted to sit in either my mom's lap or mine. After lunch he started to warm up. I made some yummy recipes from Deceptively Delicious! I made the chicken nuggets and mozzarella sticks. Doesn't sound healthy does it? Well, what we really ate was chicken, mozzarella, SPINACH, CAULIFLOWER, and BUTTERNUT SQUASH! It was so yummy! Angela was inspired to go buy the book! See picture below for dessert. I will post that recipe soon.

Here are the tods...all grown up! I was making a funny face to get their attention on the camera. I think they were trying to copy me, hence the open jaws!

There were lots of hugs and kisses to go around!

Gracyn is hugging the Rock and Roll Elmo! She is a good climber!

Gage is checking out the buttons!This is Grady. It is so funny. If he saw the camera, he put on the cutest smile...EVERY TIME!

So cute!

We are trying to wind them down from the madness! They are watching "Leo", which is Little Einsteins.

The moms! If you can't tell, it is a lot of work having a playdate! But we had so much fun! It is great getting together with moms who are in the same place as you...or just finished the phase you are in. You can gain a lot of insight and support from each other!

Here is the dessert. Check back soon for the recipe!

Enjoy the videos of the TOD MADNESS!